breakfast--10.14.11

Breakfast this morning was provided by....Starbucks.

Yes, I know, evil corporations. But sometimes, you need something to eat in the morning. I stopped by Starbucks on my way to work this morning (having already made myself an Americano at home) to pick up some oatmeal. I'm sorry to say I think this is my third this week.

Anyway, Starbucks doesn't have many vegan food options. They sometimes have weird vegan/gluten free snacks, but they aren't very tasty and they're not necessarily what you want for breakfast. So I generally get their Perfect Oatmeal with fruit (dried) and nuts. It is a bit pricey ($2.65 where I live), but it really is perfect, and I will happily support a vegan breakfast option any day. 

This morning as I ordered my oatmeal, the woman in front of me (who had just ordered a muffin), turned around to face me with a surprised look on her face. She asked if it was any good (why would I order it if it wasn't?) and looked down at her muffin with a glum face. I told her I really liked it, that it was very tasty. She seemed to feel guilty about eating something that was packed with fat and sugar (the barista said the one she chose had the highest out of all their muffins) and said that next time she'll try that. It was so odd, and quick, that I didn't even think much of it. I encouraged her to ask for it without sugar, because the dried fruit is sweet enough. I think she was empowered to try something new and perhaps think a little more about what might be in her breakfast.

Sometimes, it feels good knowing that choosing vegan options makes it easier to choose healthy options. :)

10.29.10--Lunch

I'm having "brunch" right now...leftover Autumn Harvest Soup. But in the fridge* at work I've got the last of some lentils and rice that I cooked up this week.

Lentils are definitely a staple at our house. They have a huge variety of vitamins and minerals and are a great source of protein, not to mention fiber. I recall having an issue digesting these before I went vegan, but I don't really have problems any more.

I sometimes follow a recipe for lentils, but I've gotten the hang of throwing everything in a pot and letting it go. That's important when you're trying to make a bunch of delicious lunch food to last a week. So here's my general  guide for making really delicious lentils.

First, slice up a large onion and start that in a med/large pot with olive oil. While that is cooking, crush a few cloves of garlic to get the skins off and then either leave them crush or mince them. I like to add them later because I cook things hot and always end up burning garlic. Which is a no-no.

In Indian cooking, you generally add the spices at this point. I like to add a decent amount of cumin (1-2 tsp), pinch of turmeric, marjoram, ginger, garam masala, curry powder, you name it. You would be fine with just cumin, but play around with some other spices. Unless you accidentally shake cayenne into the pot without the lid on it, you probably can't go wrong.

Stir in the spices, and then add lentils. It's a good idea to rinse the lentils and sort out any stones--yes, STONES! I'm notorious for serving my sweetie bean with rocks in it. So really, sort your beans.

I add about 2 cups of lentils, which will give you a lot of food, but it is the perfect lunch to bring to work, as long as you don't have co-workers complain about aromatic food (seriously, I don't complain about their nasty Lean Cuisines...). Then add about twice as much water. I generally add the water gradually, because I like the lentils a bit al dente. Simmer the mixture for about 40 minutes, or until all of the water is absorbed and the lentils are tender. Serve on top of rice, and add a dash of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, a bit more cumin and nutritional yeast. The vinegar is a trick from my host father in Madrid, Evelio. He made lentils a LOT. And he meditated, so I like to take cues from him. Try it...you'll like it...

*My lentils are NOW in the fridge. Turns out, though, that I left them on the counter last night. I had a huge container and ate half yesterday. I must have forgotten to put it away because when I came in to get tea this morning, it was out on the counter. Am I worried? Absolutely not! One of the best things about being vegan is that your food doesn't rot or grow nasty germies. Okay, it will get moldy after a while, but eating a plant-based diet means that your food isn't rotting at amazing speeds and carrying scary diseases. Because it's not a carcass or bodily excrements. Awesome? Yeah, totally. Bon apetit?

10.22.10--Dinner

I know it's not dinner time, but I'm driving myself crazy thinking about what I'm going to have for dinner. This might not be appetizing to my health nuts out there, but this is what Adam and I have decided to treat ourselves to for this much needed Friday evening:

Vegan Fish Sandwiches.

So, they of course don't have fish in them, but they're pretty much the best thing ever. Start with a nice white bread. I prefer a soft sourdough bread, but we only have rye at home. I like mine toasted, Adam prefers his very soft. We toast Boca brand vegan chick'n patties in the toaster, and then melt vegan cheddar cheese on top of the patty. We use a generous amount of vegenaise and then the secret ingredient: dill relish! So good! trust me, it's a big bite of heaven. I think last time we dipped the sandwiches in ketchup, but we're ketchup fiends.

Okay, I can get back to work now...

10.19.10--Dinner

I have a tendency to buy extremely large bunches of greens at the market. Now, there are definitely worse tendencies that I could (do) have, because if I don't get around to eating massive amounts of greens in a week, my rabbit, Kevin, will help me out.

As a healthy-minded vegan, I know it's important to include lots of dark leafy greens in my diet. Not only do they provide you with loads of calcium, they're also packed with iron, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, magnesium, iodine and other trace elements. This week I bought collards, which I usually use to make boston beans and greens (I'll post that sometime). Unfortunately, I don't have any black eyed peas, so I opted for a new recipe.

I have this cookbook called "Clean Food" by Terry Walters. Although it's not 100% vegan, it's very hard to find something that isn't vegan. Most of her recipes center around beans and greens and some sort of tamari-sesame oil dressing. But there are some great ideas for shaking things up, which is important when you're trying to eat locally and in season.

I found a soup in her Fall section called "Autumn Harvest Soup" and I just so happened to have all of the ingredients, except for acceptable fresh ginger. So I substituted ground ginger. No harm done.

Here is the recipe, along with my tweaks:


AUTUMN HARVEST SOUP

4 dried shitake mushrooms
6 C water
2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbs grated fresh ginger (or 1 tsp ground ginger)
3 carrots, diced
4 C chopped kale or collard greens (or both)
2 C cooked cannellini or pinto beans
1 block of firm tofu, cubed
1/4 mirin or red cooking wine
Splash of tamari
Splash of apple cider vinegar
1 Tbs miso (I used organic sweet white miso)
4-5 dashes toasted sesame oil
Freshly ground black pepper

Bring the water to a boil in a large pot, add the dried mushrooms and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the mushrooms, chop, and return to the water. Meanwhile, saute the onion, garlic and ginger for 3 minutes in the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the carrots and saute another 3 minutes. Add the beans, greens and mirin or wine and saute until the greens are deep green and soft. Add the tofu, broth, mushrooms, tamari and vinegar and simmer 5-7 minutes. Turn off the heat and use about 1 C of broth to dilute the miso. Stir until incorporated, then pour the mixture back into the pot. Season to taste with sesame oil and pepper.

Miso is a great fermented food. It is sort of alive, so you want to be sure never to boil it. I generally don't reheat miso soups, but eat them cold from the refrigerator. This soup serves 6.

10.15.10--breakfast

autumn is blowing through rochester and i'm getting swept away like the leaves from the trees. work has been busy and i can't seem to do anything but savor fleeting moments as the whole community makes the transition to cool weather and shorter days. late this summer, my desk was moved to a beautiful corner with a wall of windows and i'm glad to be better connected to the outside world. 

breakfast this morning consisted of some locally baked sourdough toast with earth balance and homemade strawberry rhubarb jam, canned by my sister and her partner.one strange thing about canning is that it allows you to eat out of season. but in a society where eating out of season is the newest faux pas, this can feel a bit unnerving. and for people trying to get back into the rhythms of the earth, it doesn't seem to fit. 

it was a slow morning but a productive one. i listened to my fall playlist, washed dishes and lavished kisses on our two wonderful cats and our adorable new pooch. although there is a chill in the air, there's something satisfying about putting on a few layers and loading up my bike for the 45 minute ride to work. i managed to put my t-shirt on inside out, but thankfully a co-worker ally told me about it right away. it's good when people look out for you...

lately, my partner and i have been eating a lot of american-style comfort food. veggie dogs from the local hot dog joint, pasta, sandwiches, lots of chinese food, and too many proteins and carbs. i am craving the clean feeling of fresh summer fruit, and although i love apple season, i'm not as much a fan of apples as other fruits. 

while at work, i sip on some coffee spiked with lots of soymilk and devour half a bar of equal exchange mint chocolate. it's one of those friday mornings. 

a couple of weeks ago, i met a gal who had gone vegan 10 days earlier! wow! so cool! it's hard for me to believe that i've been vegan for a year and a half, and it's also amazing how much i've learned. i've been sending her ideas for restaurants in the area, and although they wouldn't be relevant here, it's inspiring me to include more recipes and ideas for using hidden vegan products that are found in most grocery stores to create delicious foods. most people don't realize that regular supermarkets carry an array of vegan and vegetarian foods (SO much more than they used to!) so it is very easy to switch to a vegan diet. i'll be working on that.

so, friends, enjoy your weekend and i hope to have some new ideas posted soon. 

9.12.10--Dinner

So, it's been a while, and I haven't had a chance to fill you in on all the delicious foods I've been eating, but tonight's dinner deserves some spotlight.

Anyone who has spent at least a little time in Rochester, NY knows that the garbage plate is the quintessential Rochester dish. Not the prettiest, let me assure you, but it's perfect after a hard workout or a night out drinking.

Vegans are lucky in that Rochester also happens to have an amazing veggie dog joint. Dogtown Hots is one of the best vegetarian restaurants in the city, despite its many meat options. You can get veggie dogs, veggie burgers and plenty of vegan sides. Some of their specials are also vegan. The best part (in my opinion) is that their chili is vegan--always. That means that whenever you want a chili dog (sans cruelty), it's never further than Monroe Avenue. So, when I go to Dogtown for a plate (which has been exactly once), I get fries, baked beans, a veggie burger and chili sauce on top. Now the only problem with this is that, traditionally, garbage plates have macaroni salad ("mac" salad for short. These are New Yorkers, for heaven's sake). Dogtown of course has mac salad, but it's not vegan. They also traditionally serve "Dogtown Sauce", which is a Cincinnati chili--no beans, just meat and a savory/sweet red sauce. I've never had it, but I've seen it at the restaurant and except for the nasty dead animal aspect to it, it looks tasty.

Tonight, I was craving a real garbage plate. Mostly because I wanted mac salad. And trust me, making a garbage plate is a bit of an undertaking just for mac salad, but I was up for the challenge. I bought some frozen steak fries and looked up some recipes for the Cincinnati chili. The mac salad was easy--elbow macaroni, Vegenaise, shredded carrots and some paprika. For the chili sauce, I followed this recipe exactly (except for the dead cow part--I used Nate's Meatless Meatballs, and they were perfect). Because I only had half a bag of meatless meatballs, I halved the recipe, which worked fine. The fries were simple, I just followed the directions and sprinkled them with salt when I took them out of the oven. You really don't need a whole lot of fries since there is so much to this dish.

All of this preparation went into making the plates (we skipped the burger part because we didn't have any, but don't tell anyone). However, once Adam and I sat down to eat, I sat back in wonder as he WENT TO WORK on his plate. First, he had to have chopped raw onions. Then he got out the ketchup, mustard, and Vegenaise. Then he heaped up the mac salad (I didn't give him enough), drenched everything in ketchup and mustard and began cutting it up and mixing everything together. Now that, friends, is a true Rochestarian. I tried to follow along but he said mine was "too orderly". I guess I still have a lot to learn about how to make a real "plate".

Sitting down to this meal made me feel so good about my choice to be vegan. There was nothing I had to sacrifice to make a delicious and traditional Rochester meal, and no one was hurt (or slaughtered) in the process. Sometimes as a vegan you have to recreate restaurant favorites at home, but there is something so satisfying about learning how to make a new dish and getting to enjoy it in the comfort of your own home, with all of your own condiments. I would REALLY encourage you to try out this delicious (and not so terribly unhealthy) meal when you're really feeling the need for true comfort food.

8.29.10--Dinner

I often use food to celebrate little successes. Like today, for example. I thought eating at Balsam was a great way to celebrate that Adam and I were finally going to finish the attic. And then this evening, we all thought a great way to celebrate that we actually finished was to go out to eat.

Adam's "favorite" restaurant in the city is called Flavors of Asia. We lovingly call it Flasia. Or Flavors. Or just, Let's-Get-Some-Sesame-Tofu-and-Scallion-Pancakes. It is a delightful little restaurant with the best fried tofu in town. Tonight, Betsy, Charlie (her husband), Adam and I ordered salt and pepper tofu, general tso tofu, and orange tofu. They all looked about the same, but the FLAVORS (!) were all pleasingly distinct. I also decided to try a soy Thai tea, and the server looked surprised and said over and over that only one....ONE...other person had ever ordered that! Couldn't get over it. He made a very gestured mental note and then gave me a special glass to denote it's "special" nature. It was pretty damn good, and I'm glad that I thought to order it. You really can get anything vegan in this town.

My belly is full and this weekend is officially over. Let's hope I can keep up this flurry of posts throughout the week.

And in case you're wondering, I really don't plan to post every single thing I eat. This isn't a food journal. It's just a way to explain what vegans eat and how to live a healthy, cruelty-free lifestyle.Sometimes it just takes some creativity and positive thinking to find the most delicious and feel-good food out there. I know, because that's how I became vegan! I started dating someone that was so positive and so at ease about having this "radical" diet that I couldn't help but realize that I don't need to eat animals or their bodily by-products to live a rich, satisfying life.